No More Goodbyes
by Charmeleon
Summary: Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. This idea has been floating in my mind for 2 yrs. after seeing Pokemon 3. Better summary inside.


I first got this idea of a one-shot a couple of months after seeing Pokemon 3: Spell of the Unown. I couldn't really stop thinking about it since then so I decided to give this idea a try. What if Ash and Charizard were reunited, but in one of the worse ways. This one-shot deals with a painful reunion, and I mean painful. As Ash and his friends are heading to Vermilion City from Olivine, a sudden storm creates a big wave that sends Ash overboard and roughly pushes him to Charicific Valley. There, a painful discovery rather than a welcome is found lying on the steps to the entrance.  
( ) after Pokemon language is the translantion  
( ) alone is Charizard and/or Charla talking  
' is human thoughts  
(' is Pokemon thoughts  
(A/N) is me giving a quick note if I need to

No More Goodbyes

As many of the days started for Ash and his friends, it was a clear and sunny day. They were in Olivine City waiting for the S.S. Aqua to take them to Vermilion City. They wanted to visit Lt. Surge for a few days. It had been just about two years since they were last in Vermilion City, and Ash wondered how Lt. Surge was doing.

"It will be great to see Lt. Surge again," Ash said.

"Pika (Yeah)!" Pikachu said happily from his usual place on Ash's shoulder. 

"It most certainly will. I wonder how his Raichu is too," Misty said.

"I can't wait to see the surprised look on his face," Brock said.

Ash and Misty nodded at that. Lt. Surge was going to be mighty surprised to see them. An hour later, they ship came to dock. Ash, Brock and Misty showed the guard their tickets and went aboard. For five minutes, the people coming from and the people going to Vermilion City exchanged places. Another ten minutes later, the S.S. Aqua set sail to Vermilion City. The sea was as peaceful as it was very beautiful. The sun shone on the crystal clear water making it look like a big blue sapphire.

"The sea is absolutely beautiful today," Misty said as she looked at the water. 

"It sure is," Ash said.

"Pi," Pikachu said as he nodded.

Meanwhile in Charicific Valley, the Charizard were also enjoying the beautiful weather. It had been a few months since Charizard saw Ash again. He continued to train hard in the valley, and got stronger and faster each day. He had made a vow to himself that one day, he would return to Ash for good.

('I couldn't believe I saw you again Ash. It felt great with you in command again. Some day, that will be almost constant for us') Charizard thought.

Meanwhile, Ash was above deck while his friends and Pokemon were below deck. Ash wanted to stay above deck and look out on the water. He left his backpack, Pokeballs and Pikachu with Misty and Brock. They, the other passengers, the captain and crew were unaware of the danger that swept their way. The tail end of a long line of severe thunderstorms raced directly for the ship at 50 mph. The skies began to darken very quickly, and the waves began to get rough as the line inched closer. Soon, the storms hit with awesome force. The wind picked up to 70 mph with occasional gusts of 80 mph. The rain came down so hard that it was like someone left a faucet on at full power. The waves rose to a terrifying 50 ft.

Fortunately, the ship was built from very strong glass, steel, concrete and iron. The materials were so strong, that the ship could easily sail in a strong Category 4 hurricane. So these storms were far from strong enough to give the ship any difficulties. The people inside and/or below deck felt the roughness of the waves, but they were safe because of the strong materials.

Misty, Brock, Togepi and Pikachu were very worried. While they were safe, Ash wasn't. He was at the storm's mercy because he was still above deck. The sudden change in the waves caught them off guard by flinging them back a few times, but they got settled again.

"Ash could be in serious trouble. We've got to help him," Misty said as she got up to go above deck.

"Misty, the waves are too rough. We can't do anything," Brock warned.

"I've got to do something," Misty said as she walked towards the stairs.

Another wave crashed into the ship, flinging her against the wall.

"Are you okay Misty?" Brock asked, helping her up.

"Yeah, I have a slight headache though," Misty responded.

Meanwhile, Ash did whatever he could to hold on. The waves taunted and teased him by washing him towards a wall and then pulling him closer to the edge of the boat. The railing was the only thing that kept him from going over the edge because each wave swept him off his feet so he was sitting down. He tried to go inside or below deck, but the waves stopped him cold.

The captain and crew inside could only watch in horror as Ash continued to get pummeled by the waves. An hour later, a 70 ft. wave finally threw Ash overboard. Misty, Brock, Pikachu and Togepi could only listen in horror as he screamed when the wave threw him over.

"Pikapi (Ash)!" Pikachu cried.

The waves were too big and too rough to even think about attempting a rescue. The ship sailed on as the very strong current of the rough waves dragged Ash along. Misty was angry. She knew Brock was right, but she felt angry and helpless because there was nothing anyone inside or below deck could do. Pikachu and Brock felt the same way.

"I have never felt so helpless in my life. Ash was in danger, and we couldn't do a thing about it," Misty said.

"I know how you feel Misty. I feel the exact same way. We can only pray that he will be all right," Brock said.

('Ash, please be safe wherever you are') Pikachu and Togepi thought.

'Oh Ash, I hope that you will be all right. The friendship you gave me is more than any bike in the world to me,' Misty thought. She had realized a long time ago that she was wrong in following Ash for a silly bike.

After all, bikes can be replaced, but someone's life cannnot. Ash tried to swim through the waves, but they were too rough. He did his best to keep his head above water, as he was pushed further and further out to sea. Meanwhile in Charicific Valley, Liza and the Charizard were weathering the storm well. There was a cave high above ground that was more than big enough to fit all of them.

The storms moved from east to west. Olivine City was about 250 miles east from Charicific Valley. The waves took Ash on a westerly track for Charicific Valley. He hoped to reach land soon because he was extremely exhausted from fighting against the waves. He fought as best he could, but the waves' force was too powerful and drained more of his strength every minute.

After an hour of being pushed by the waves, he finally saw land. Another 70 ft. wave pushed him towards the metal doors. The force of the impact on the doors was so intense, that he screamed out in intense pain before fainting. His scream was more than loud enough to reach the Charizard and Liza's ears.

(Ash!) Charizard cried. He was about to go out in the storm when Liza stopped him.

"No Charizard, it's raining too hard for you to go out now. We'll go out when the storm passes," Liza said.

Charizard nodded in defeat. Liza was right. He would be granting a death wish if he went out into the storm. After another agonizing hour and a half, the storm finally passed, and the sun shone bright again. Charizard wasted no time in flying out of the cave. Liza and Charla were close behind. A few minutes later, the three of them were over the metal doors. Charizard looked down and gasped in horror and worry.

Ash lay unmoving on the steps to the entrance. Charizard and Charla landed next to Ash, and Liza dismounted off Charla's back. Ash had a look of severe pain on his face. Charizard lightly touched him, earning a cry of extreme pain as a result.

"He's critically hurt. We must get him inside," Liza said as she got back on Charla.

Charizard gently lifted Ash up and flew back over the entrance. The other Charizard were roaming through the valley again. Upon seeing Ash in Charizard's arms, their worry shot up to the sky. Even though they were in a valley, they still had a Pokemon Center.

"Let's take him to Nurse Joy," Liza said.

Charizard and Charla headed for the Pokemon Center. They arrived and landed there in half an hour. Nurse Joy was outside watering her plants when she saw them approaching. When she saw Ash, she immediately rushed to them.

"Oh my stars, what happened?" Nurse Joy asked in extreme concern.

"We don't know. The Charizard and I were in a high cave, waiting for the storm to pass. About two hours later, we heard the most agonizing scream coming from the entrance. Charizard knew that it was Ash and would've gone out into the storm if I didn't stop him. After the storm passed, we found Ash on the steps with a look of severe pain. Charizard gently touched him, but he cried out in extreme pain. So we brought him here," Liza responded.

"Let's get inside," Nurse Joy responded as she went in.

Liza, Charla and Charizard followed. There was a rolling bed waiting. Charizard put Ash on the bed and went into the bathroom to wash Ash's blood off his arms and hands. Then Charizard went into the waiting room with Liza and Charla. Nurse Joy went into the ICU. She put Ash on anesthesia and did a few X-rays. She got horrifying results. Ash's left shoulder; both his legs and all his ribs were broken in multiple places. She put Ash's shoulder back into place before bandaging up his body. Then she went into the waiting room.

"Well, how bad is he?" Liza asked.

"Very bad I'm afraid. I put his left shoulder back in place so it would heal properly. In addition to a broken shoulder, both his legs and all of his ribs are broken," Nurse Joy responded.

"May we see him?" Liza asked.

"Come with me," Nurse Joy responded. She led them to a room right across from the front desk.

Liza, Charla and Charizard felt their blood run cold when they saw Ash. His body was completely bandaged up except for his head, neck and right arm. Charizard couldn't hold back his tears any longer and openly cried for a good hour. Afterwards, he pulled up a chair on the right side of Ash's bed and held his hand.

"Well, Charla and I are going back to the others. We'll come back frequently to check on Ash's condition. Ash needs to see a familiar face when he wakes up," Liza said as she and Charla went outside. She got on Charla's back, and they went back home. 

Meanwhile, Misty, Brock and the Pokemon had finally reached Vermilion City. They headed straight for the gym just like they were going to do. Lt. Surge trained with his Raichu when he saw Misty, Brock, Togepi and Pikachu enter.

"I can't believe that we're seeing each other again. I wondered how you guys were doing. Ever since Ash's and my battle, I've trained my Raichu hard and had a greater respect for smaller Pokemon. Where is he?" Lt. Surge said.

"I'm afraid that's the bad news. While on our way here, a storm caught everyone off guard. An hour after the storm hit, Ash got thrown overboard by a huge wave. We have no idea where he is," Misty said.

Lt. Surge changed from surprised and happy to extremely worried and concerned. "Well, you can stay at the Pokemon Center. I'll cut my matches short. Maybe we'll get some news about Ash's condition," he said.

Misty and Brock nodded gratefully and headed for the center. They arrived in half an hour and told Nurse Joy what's happened. For the first time in his life, Brock didn't even think about flirting with Nurse Joy. He was too worried about Ash to flirt.

Two days have passed, and Ash still hasn't woken up yet. Liza, Charla and Charizard couldn't find out where Ash was going. It took another five days for Ash to finally come around. The first thing he felt was immobilized. He looked and saw that most of his body was bandaged up. Then he felt a weight on his right hand. He looked around to see Charizard looking at him and holding his hand.

"Ch-Ch-Charizard?" Ash asked.

Charizard cried for the twentieth time that week. Ash's voice sounded very weak, and he apparently couldn't talk without pain. Nurse Joy, Liza and Charla came in to see that Ash woke up.

"I'm glad to see that you finally woke up," Nurse Joy said.

"How..did..I..get..here? The..last..thing..I..remember..was..getting..swept..off..that..boat..by..a..huge..wave," Ash weakly said.

"You have to save your strength Ash. But can you tell us where you were headed?" Nurse Joy said.

"V-Vermilion...Ci-City," Ash responded, "m-maybe..my..uhn..friends..are..there."

"I'll contact my cousin at the Pokemon Center. In the meantime, don't speak at all," Nurse Joy said.

Ash nodded the best he could, and Nurse Joy went off to contact her cousin (A/N: For the conversation between the Nurse Joys, I will refer to the Charicific Valley Nurse Joy as C.V. Nurse Joy, and the Vermilion City Nurse Joy as V.C. Nurse Joy to avoid major confusion). Misty sat across from the front desk when the videophone went off. Nurse Joy was attending to some of her patients.

"Nurse Joy, you have a phone call," Misty said.

"Thank you Misty," Nurse Joy said as she picked up the phone. She saw one of her cousins as the screen came on.

"Hi cousin," V.C. Nurse Joy said.

"Hi, what's up?" C.V. Nurse Joy asked.

"Nothing but worry. Ash is still missing, and his friends and I have no idea where he is," V.C. Nurse Joy responded.

"Well you have an idea now. Ash is here in Charicific Valley with me," C.V. Nurse Joy said.

"How is he?" V.C. Nurse Joy asked with major relief.

"Not good I'm afraid. He was able to tell me that he and his friends were on their way to where you are when a big wave swept him off the boat. The waves pushed him here, and it was pretty hard at that. He slammed against the metal doors so hard that the impact broke his left shoulder, both legs and all his ribs," C.V. Nurse Joy responded.

"That's awful," V.C. Nurse Joy said in horror. "Keep in frequent contact with me, and I'll relay the info to his friends," she added.

"Okay, bye," C.V. Nurse Joy said as she hung up.

V.C. Nurse Joy hung up and went to the waiting room. "Well, Ash ended up in Charicific Valley but he was critically injured. Quite a few of his bones were broken," she said.

Misty, Brock and the Pokemon felt their blood run cold after hearing that bit of information. All the Pokemon were worried, but Ash's were the most worried.

"Bay bay bay. Bay bay ba bay bay (Poor Ash. I hope he'll survive his injuries)" Bayleef said.

"Hoot, hoot hoo hoot (Yeah, I hope so too) Noctowl said.

As the days went by, Ash slowly recovered from his severe injuries. His left shoulder was the first to heal all the way, and Nurse Joy removed the bandages on his left arm. As the weeks went by, Ash healed more and more. Nurse Joy frequently contacted her cousin to tell the good news. Misty, Brock, Lt. Surge and the Pokemon were very relieved to hear about Ash's slow but steady recovery.

In Charicific Valley, Charizard, Charla and Liza were the most relieved to see Ash slowly recover. About a month later, Ash was permitted to leave the Pokemon Center. However, he still couldn't move around too much since some of his bones were still broken. His legs and some of his ribs were still broken, but it was better than how he first arrived there. Charizard gently picked him up and flew out the wide door. Charizard headed for where he trained and found Liza there. He landed and carefully sat Ash down on a rock.

"Glad to see you out Ash. Can you speak regularly now?" Liza asked.

Ash shook his head no as a response. He still had trouble and pain speaking.

"Well, you'll be able to speak regularly once all your ribs heal. For now, you can watch all the Charizard here," Liza said.

Back in Vermilion City, Lt. Surge was having a match between his Raichu and Ash's Pikachu. The battle was just about even since Raichu learned all the Pikachu moves. It knew Agility, Quick Attack as well as all the electric moves, including the powerful Zap Cannon from a TM Lt. Surge gave it.

"It seems that this match could go both ways now. Lt. Surge trained his Raichu a lot since we were gone," Misty said.

"It might go his way since Ash isn't here. Pikachu is battling Raichu by itself," Brock said.

"But that will make both Pikachu and Raichu a little better and stronger," Misty said.

After an exhausting match for both Pikachu and Raichu, they both fainted at the same time. Lt. Surge gave both of them a couple of Full Restores, and they both recovered fine.

"It's too bad that Full Restore only works on Pokemon, or I could send one to Charicific Valley to help Ash out. That was a great battle Raichu. You've really improved Pikachu. It was an even Steven all the way to the end," Lt. Surge said.

"Rai rai (Yeah, nice job)" Raichu said.

"Pika pi pika chu pichu (Thanks, you did great yourself)" Pikachu said.

"Rai (Thanks)" Raichu said.

In Charicific Valley, Ash watched the other Charizard frolic around. Some trained by using their fire attacks at stationary and moving targets. By firing at the moving targets, they got air training as well as some of the moving targets could float through the air. He didn't see his Charizard and wondered where it could be. Charizard was in another area, training with Liza and Charla. He and Charla were having a battle against each other. Like the battle between Pikachu and Raichu, this battle was also pretty even. Like Pikachu, Charizard was on his own while Liza gave Charla commands. But the only thing different about this battle is that Charizard thought of what Ash would tell him to do if he could speak right.

That gave Charizard an edge on the battle. He always managed to stay one step ahead of Charla. It was that edge that gave him the victory as he wrapped himself in a Fire Spin and tackled Charla hard. Charla fell to the ground defeated. Liza used Full Restore on Charla and then gave some to Charizard.

"That was amazing Charizard. It was as if Ash was here the whole time the way you battled," Liza said.

(Yeah, you did a good job. I couldn't keep you down for long) Charla said.

(You did very well yourself) Charizard said.

"Now, let's see how Ash is doing," Liza said.

Charizard and Charla nodded, and Liza got on Charla's back.

Charizard and Charla flew off to where they left Ash. They found him still right there on the rock. They landed beside him, and Liza got of Charla. They smiled at the look of amazement on Ash's face.

"I see that you like what you see here," Liza said.

Ash nodded smiling. As the days passed, his ribs mended back together. In another two weeks, all his ribs and his left leg were completely healed. He was now able to talk without pain.

"You're recovering quite well," Liza said.

"Yeah, and I'm glad that I can speak instead of move my head," Ash said.

Nurse Joy had come by for another visit and saw Ash's progress. "How are you feeling now?" she asked.

"I'm feeling much better. My right leg is still broken, but I'm glad that I can finally speak," Ash responded.

"That is a good thing to hear indeed. Your friends in Vermilion City will be very glad to hear about your virtual complete recovery," Nurse Joy said as she headed back to tell her cousin the news.

Misty and the others were very glad to hear about Ash's continuous recovery. They had set off for Olivine city after telling Nurse Joy to tell her cousin to tell Ash that they would meet him there. Ash received the news. He wanted to return fully healed so he remained at Charicific Valley until his right leg healed. Some of the Charizard stayed next to him and watched the others train. Then the ones watching would train while the ones who trained took a breather. An additional two weeks later, Ash's right leg had completely healed, and he was ready to see his friends in Olivine.

Charizard was ready to take him back. (I want to be with Ash. Don't worry; I'll visit whenever I can) he told Charla.

(Safe journey then) Charla said as they exchanged a final hug.

"I hope you and Charizard have a safe journey to Olivine City. Hopefully, you can visit us," Liza said.

"Thanks, and I hope that we can visit," Ash said as they exchanged a hug. Then Ash got on Charizard's back, and Charizard took to the air.

"I can't wait to see my friends again. It's been two months since I was roughly dragged here by the sea," Ash said.

An hour later, Charizard landed at the Olivine City Pokemon Center. Ash dismounted him, and they went inside. Misty, Brock, Pikachu, Lt. Surge, Raichu and Togepi were sitting in the waiting room when Ash and Charizard entered.

"Pikapi (Ash)!" Pikachu shouted happily as he ran to and jumped into Ash's arms.

"I'm glad to see you too buddy," Ash said as he hugged Pikachu.

"It's good to see you all better," Lt. Surge said.

"I'm glad to be all better. Getting thrown overboard and pushed by the waves was the worst experience of my life," Ash said.

"Hey, what's Charizard doing here? Didn't he want to stay at Charicific Valley?" Brock asked.

"Charizard's here because he wants to stay with me," Ash responded.

"Ash, you have some more friends waiting to see you," Misty said as she released his other Pokemon before handing his Poke Balls over to him.

Bayleef, Noctowl, Totodile and Cyndaquil gathered around Ash in excitement that he was back. Bayleef rubbed her head against him. Noctowl perched itself on his right shoulder while Totodile hugged Ash's left leg, and Cyndaquil rubbed his head against Ash's right leg.

"I'm glad to see all of you too," Ash chuckled.

Charizard looked at Ash's other Pokemon in confusion. He never saw them before. Ash looked at Charizard and saw the confused look.

"I'm sorry Charizard. I forgot that you never saw my other Pokemon. You remember Chikorita right? Well, she evolved into Bayleef. The little alligator is Totodile. The owl is Noctowl, and the one on my right leg is Cyndaquil. Guys, this is Charizard," Ash said. 

Totodile, Cyndaquil and Noctowl warmly greeted Charizard. Charizard and Bayleef smiled at each other. Even though Charizard was looking at Bayleef, he saw Chikorita underneath the new look. Then Charizard stepped next to Ash again. Misty introduced Charizard to Corsola, and Brock introduced him to Crobat. It was like saying hello all over again.

Charizard knew that he had a lot to catch up on since he was away. He also knew that whatever was in store for them now, he would be there to witness it. He trained as hard as he could at Charicific Valley, but he realized that he could also become stronger through his friendship with Ash. The battle between him and Charla proved that. It was like he and Ash were bonded or something. And through that bond, he and the rest of Ash's Pokemon would always succeed at whatever fate threw their way.

So how did you like it? Consider this my first real angst fic.  
Bye bye


End file.
